New residence (and developments)

At the beginning of December, I moved out of the house in Kibagabaga. In August, the young brother in our Chinese congregation named Adiel had moved in with Jacques and me at Kibagabaga for a couple of reasons. First, because Jacques was connecting with his girlfriend (now fiancée) almost all the time, he realized that I was in need of some company, which was true. Also, Adiel wanted me to teach him piano, and in furtherance of that end, moved his keyboard (along with himself, for convenience sake) into our house.

However, it was inevitable that we would have to move out of that house when members of the family from Belgium, especially the mom, were to come. So in advance of that, in December Adiel and I decided to move to his family's house located in an area called Gahanga. This area is about 12 km (7 mi) outside of town, and sure enough, it does feel like I'm living in a village, particularly since I haven't seen another mzungu since living here. However, one big difference is that the houses out here are big, and there is construction of more houses of this size going on everywhere. So I guess it would be more appropriate to say these are the suburbs of Kigali.

What is life like in the 'burbs? Well, there's an open-air market, just like in other neighborhoods. The main tarmac road is new, smooth, and wide enough for two cars. In fact, you can go 75 kph (45 mph) on this road, which is about the fastest I ever drive in Kigali. It sure is fun! The road is of this quality because it is the one leading to the new airport they are building; when it will be finished I don't know. Other than that, I notice that here outside of town, I get stared at. A lot. Not like in the city, where I think people are more used to seeing non-Africans.

So I'm here at the house of Brother Kalimunda, his wife, two daughters, and son. Everyone except the wife and hired hand go off to work during the week, leaving me pretty much to my own devices. Of course, there is congregation work, some preaching during the week, and I still have a once-a-week piano teaching job, which is about the only reason to go out in the car. Otherwise, it's just marking time.

Three more months, to be exact. That's because on April 1, I will be returning to the U.S. and leaving Rwanda for good. My parents are needing some help due to the limitations of their age. My younger brother and I have worked out a tentative arrangement where we each spend half the year close to my parents, which means I can spend the other half of the year somewhere else. Thus, there is the possibility that I can return to East Africa late next year. But that depends on how the COVID-19 situation is by that time also.

So...it has been a wild ride! Never dreamed that I would be living here in Rwanda for 7 years!